Rolando Padua, co-executive director of Paulson Puerto Rico, said he hopes the tax-equality bill advances before the legislative session ends, as Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives and Senate weigh proposals with different rates. In an interview with El Nuevo Día’s Lo de Hoy, Padua said recent talks in the Legislature have raised lowering the 10% rate the House approved.
He is absolutely convinced the measure can pass before the legislative session ends
He said House Treasury Committee chair Eddie Charbonier Chinea told him in conversation that the rate could drop to 7%, and that Senate president Thomas Rivera Schatz believes it could be cut further. "He is absolutely convinced the measure can pass before the legislative session ends," Padua said of Rivera Schatz. The original proposal from Gov. Jenniffer González Colón’s administration set an optional 4% rate for Puerto Rico residents on interest, dividends and long-term capital gains.
The Senate kept 4% in Senate Bill 488, which it approved in June and sent to the House. House Bill 501 also started at 4%, but in September the House approved it at 10% and sent it to the Senate; Charbonier Chinea said then the change sought to avoid a loss of government revenue. Padua called the Senate measure "a very, very well-made measure."